How to Write a Scary & Strong Antagonist [Novel Boot Camp 2]

Creating a terrifying antagonist can be just as hard as creating an endearing or likeable protagonist. In this video I’m going to go over the most common pitfalls and mistakes that could weaken your antagonist.

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Most of my stories don’t have a villain – there is not a person I could label antagonist. But this video has got me thinking about my protagonists’ inner struggles – what if I view that inner conflict as the antagonist? I think this may be helpful in keeping my mind on the conflict and how it’s affecting my characters. Too often I will have scenes that are somewhat meandering, where my characters are just wandering around until I find the next plot point that pushes them forward. If I look at it through the lens of the conflict, the inner antagonist, I’ll see more easily that if a scene isn’t relating to that antagonist, it’s probably unnecessary!

Everyone/everything has an antagonist. Robinson Crusoe’s antagonist in the beginning of his life before meeting Friday was nature and his abilities/inabilities for survival. If you’ve ever had trouble falling asleep, you’ve faced an antagonist. So if you don’t have a named character/situation/alien abductor/hungry lion that the hero has to battle to live to the end of the story, step back and check to see if you really have them living. Only the dead don’t have an antagonist to be in conflict with.